NEW YORK — Google Inc. and T-Mobile unveiled the first cell phone running the search giant's mobile software recently, showing off a long-awaited handset that resembles an iPhone but adds a hidden keyboard and quick access to Google programs.
The $179 phone, called the G1, is to go on sale on Oct. 22 in U.S. cities where carrier T-Mobile has its faster, third-generation wireless networks. By mid-October there will be 21 markets including Atlanta and Austin, Texas.
The G1, with its free Android operating system, is one of the most visible signs of Google's push into the wireless world, a relatively untapped realm for the company's lucrative online advertising business.
Besides providing access to Google search, mapping, e-mail and YouTube video services, the G1 also will connect to Android Market, where customers can download a variety of applications and games from third-party developers.
The phone promises to be a signature handset for T-Mobile, as Apple Inc.'s iPhone has become for Dallas-based AT&T Inc. T-Mobile, the U.S. arm of Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG, is planning its largest marketing campaign to promote the phone.
The G1 is not for mainstream audiences, but appeals to a certain type of customer valuable to T-Mobile, said Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin.
That customer is "very similar to an iPhone adopter, but who is even more of someone for whom the Internet on the go is a vital piece of their lives," he said.
Golvin said the G1 is a well-designed device, but it is "not going to cause a stampede of users from Verizon and Sprint and AT&T over to T-Mobile."
Other carriers, including AT&T, have plans for handsets that run Android.
Google sees selling ads on mobile devices as potentially even more valuable than its current focus on office- and home-bound computers using the Internet.
"I'm excited about the possibilities," said Google's Larry Page, who made an unexpected appearance Tuesday at the G1 launch event with co-founder Sergey Brin.
"There's about 3 billion mobile phones with about a billion new ones every year," Page said. Describing the G1 as a powerful computer, he said that "when you think about that in terms of access to the Internet, being able to really use the Web, to use the applications we all make and really work hard on, I think that's a tremendous, tremendous opportunity."
The G1, made by Taiwan's HTC Corp., features a 3-megapixel camera, a trackball for one-handed use and a high-resolution touch screen that slides to reveal a full keyboard. But unlike the latest iPhone and Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry models, the G1 has only a limited ability to connect to corporate e-mail servers.
The Android software includes broad instant messaging support and a fully functional Web browser that allows users to zoom by tapping the screen.
The G1 adds to Google's mapping services by merging a built-in compass with the Street View application. The result allows users to see images of locations and navigate the view by moving the phone.
Another new Android tool developed by Amazon.com takes aim at the iPhone and Apple's iTunes service. The included program lets users search and sample songs and then use Wi-Fi to download music from Amazon's music store.
The $179 price tag, $20 less than the cheapest iPhone, requires a two-year contract. The G1, running globally used GSM technology, is to be sold in Britain in November and elsewhere in Europe next year.
An "unlimited" G1 data plan costs $25 besides voice service and unlimited messaging is another $10.
However, T-Mobile may reduce access speeds if a customer uses more than 1 gigabyte of data in a billing cycle, according to the carrier's G1 Web site.
People in cities where T-Mobile doesn't have 3G service can buy the phone online and use Wi-Fi connections and the carrier's slower networks.
The G1 shows that T-Mobile has embraced Google's vision for Internet-style openness on mobile devices, Golvin said. He said customers can download and run almost any program they want without a T-Mobile "stamp of approval."
"That's fairly disruptive from a market perspective," he said. "All of T-Mobile's competitors in the U.S. haven't really opened up completely to 'do everything you want on the Internet,' with the exception of the iPhone and even there you've got some restrictions with the (online) App Store."
Google's Brin said the first application he created for the G1 involved using its built-in accelerometer. Tossing his phone in the air at the Manhattan event, he said the program monitors how long it takes the G1 to be caught or hit the floor.
"We did not include that one," he said. "It's just very exciting for me as a computer geek to be able to have a phone that I can play with and modify and innovate upon just like I have with computers."
On the Web:
G1 site: www.t-mobileg1.com
Google: www.google.com
David Ho's e-mail address is dho(at)coxnews.com